Both Sides Now
by Funky In Fishnet
Summary: Nattie notices that Tyson and Cesaro are definitely looking at each other as more than friends. Cesaro opens her eyes to what could be the new shape of her marriage. Nattie finds comfort, friendship and balance in a way that she never expected.


_**Disclaimer: **I own nothing._

_**Author Note: **Title is an echo of the song by Joni Mitchell which actually has nothing to do with this fic lol. Warning, contains polyamory, in this case, a guy who has a wife whilst starting to date someone else too. All consentual.  
_

* * *

**BOTH SIDES NOW**

Nattie could just about get the front door open without calling for help but it was a close thing. She dropped an abundance of store bags at the foot of the stairs and dumped her purse on the kitchen countertop. The cats greeted her, eager to enjoy the attention that Nattie always lavished on them. They were behaving a little more company-starved than usual though. That told Nattie a lot.

She grabbed her purchases and swept up the stairs. Tyson and Antonio had claimed that they were going to hit the gym in her absence but Nattie could see little evidence of that and as she got further up the stairs, she began to hear some very telling noises. She hung up her new clothes – God, that pink dress was amazing, she couldn't wait to wear it– before investigating further.

She knocked on the master bedroom door. She could hear more noise now, gasps of pleasure that made her heart do a funny little jump and she couldn't help smiling, her cheeks blooming with color.

"You guys are still here?" she managed to say in an even tone.

"Tantric!" Tyson sounded very pleased with himself. "It's a great work-out."

"He's a natural," added Antonio.

Nattie raised her eyebrows. Tantric. Okay, so that meant... "You mean you guys haven't...?"

"Not yet, we wanted to last until you got back," Antonio told her.

Oh. Nattie blushed and smiled again, that was actually really nice to hear. Tyson kept telling her that for him this really wasn't an either/or scenario – he wanted them both. Moments like this were a really nice reminder of that.

"That's really sweet, guys."

There was a sound like a high-five, then Tyson let out a punched-out groan. Nattie took a small step back, hit by the recurring worry that she was crowding their relationship and yes, helping to keep their relationship healthy had become important to her too.

"I'll leave you guys to it."

She headed down towards the kitchen; she needed a drink and they were going to be thirsty when they finally emerged and they'd need to rehydrate. The new state of her relationship with her husband wasn't something Nattie talked about with anyone outside of Tyson or Antonio yet, she just knew what she liked and Tyson liked it and Antonio did too and that was the important thing. It definitely wasn't what Nattie had ever envisioned for herself but it really did feel good. So far so good. Nattie had promised to say if she ever started feeling differently. Antonio had insisted on that.

"Communication," he'd said seriously. "The minute that falls down, you would not believe the mess."

So here they were.

It wasn't something that Nattie had noticed immediately. She'd thought it was great that Tyson had found such a good friend in Antonio Cesaro and of course she'd noticed how complimentary they were about each other. She'd liked how happy Tyson had gotten around Antonio and how positively Antonio had affected Tyson's moods. Then they'd started spending increasing amounts of time together and Antonio had talked to Nattie a lot too. He'd even brought her flowers, way more than Tyson ever had. That'd been nice, to get to know a friend of Tyson's who'd been so considerate.

So Nattie had been happy until she'd caught sight of how Antonio had looked at Tyson sometimes and how Tyson had looked back. She'd never seen Tyson look that way towards anyone except her. It'd completely broken her heart. It'd absolutely felt as though something had been going on behind her back so she'd gotten herself a hotel room for the night and had thought about calling Rosa for sympathy and company because this had been way worse than a bad birthday present. Tyson had cheated on her.

Antonio had called her first though. He'd asked her not to hang up and had assured her that nothing had happened between him and Tyson though after she'd left they'd talked about it and yes, they'd both wanted something to happen. Nattie had been impressed that Antonio had gotten Tyson to actually talk about his feelings, Antonio had laughed and agreed.

"Oh, he's like the worst kind of lobster. But I told him, if we don't talk, he loses us both."

Nattie had been taken aback at that, wasn't Antonio ready to swoop in on Tyson while she was gone? Antonio had claimed that that was not what he'd had in mind and that guilty sex was not enjoyable. Nattie had replied that she honestly wouldn't know.

"I like your husband, Natalya. I knew we would have to talk about this. It's not easy."

No, it hadn't been. But Antonio had soldiered on and had revealed that Tyson still loved Nattie very much but that he'd also found himself thinking about Antonio too. Nattie's stomach had turned over at the point, wondering where this could lead to apart from towards a lot of unhappiness.

"If it was possible, I think he would date us both."

There'd been something in Antonio's tone that'd made Nattie's brow pucker and then Antonio had revealed one of two his dating experiences and what they could mean for the three of them. Polyamory. It didn't mean that Nattie would have to date Antonio; she just had to decide if she'd be willing to accept Tyson dating him. Nattie really hadn't known what to say so Antonio had told her that he and Tyson wouldn't be anything other than friends until she'd gotten a chance to think about everything.

He'd been kind of unbelievable about the whole thing. Nattie had appreciated that. She'd also done a lot of head-spinning research on the internet and had thought a lot about the state of her marriage, how Tyson had been acting lately and how much she personally liked Antonio. Eventually she'd agreed to meet up with Tyson to talk about the whole situation. That had been a very long night but it'd been fruitful too.

The outcome was that they both wanted to stay married and they were also willing to see how Antonio might fit in. Tyson hadn't wanted to live two separate lives but for all her good feelings towards Antonio, Nattie hadn't been sure if she'd be able to handle watching her husband date someone else. They'd decided to take baby steps and while they'd experienced some severe stop-starts along the way, neither of them had backed out yet.

* * *

There was a little bit of a routine to their days now. One night a week, Nattie and Tyson tried to go out on a date together and Antonio and Tyson did the same on another night. The rest of the time, they worked it out. Nattie found herself watching television with Antonio and accepting a really outstanding foot massage. All three of them went out to bars and restaurants and they worked out together but Nattie spent time with her girlfriends too and told them that things were going well with Tyson, that they were working something out.

Antonio respected the privacy that Nattie often wanted and when she wanted to have time alone with Tyson. She did the same for Antonio. Tyson made it obvious that he liked being with both of them.

"Have you always been attracted to guys?" Nattie asked one lazy night, voicing a query that'd been hounding her for a while.

Tyson looked surprised that she even had to ask. "No, just Antonio."

Nattie nodded and thought about that for a while. The WWE was full of beautiful people, Antonio was one of the tough-looking old-school guys that'd been peopling the business for years. Nattie had been meeting guys like that since birth. She kind of liked the contrast between herself and Antonio. Some nights, she silently wished that Tyson was spending time with her instead of with Antonio but she couldn't let that feeling fester into resentment. It wasn't like Tyson spent more time with Antonio than he did with her; actually he'd been spending more time with her now than he had done before he'd started dating Antonio.

He told her how much he loved her too and she didn't have to walk around in lingerie in order to get his attention.

Nattie made sure that she spent time with Antonio as well, they were friends and she wanted to know more about her husband's boyfriend. Things wouldn't feel right to her otherwise. Antonio was pleased to spend time with her too, even if Tyson didn't always look happy at what he felt was him being left out. The irony of that was huge to Nattie, and to Antonio.

"Oh, so it's okay for you but not us?" he pointed out, cupping Tyson's face and running a thumb across his flattened lips. "This does not make anyone happy."

"It's not like we're going to be out _all_ night," added Nattie.

Tyson frowned as Nattie hooked her arm through Antonio's, heading off to a nice little bar where they could talk. Antonio bought her drinks and sat close and shared stories about Tyson. He looked comfortable in his blazer, shirt and slacks, he was the sort of battered handsome that really did feel familiar to Nattie. Maybe that was why she felt so relaxed around him.

"So you're not turfing me out yet," Antonio noted, enjoying a glass of brandy.

His gaze was questioning and Nattie was surprised to notice an almost concerned tinge to his expression. From what he'd said, she'd assumed that Antonio was very experienced at this kind of relationship. Maybe he was, maybe he always worried. Maybe he'd been dumped out of something like this before; Nattie could imagine it happened.

She wanted to reassure him though so she grasped his hand. "Honestly, I never thought I'd be involved in anything like this. This is _way _out of my comfort zone but you're a good influence on Tyson and you make him happy."

"And you? I make you...?"

Nattie smiled softly. "You don't make me unhappy."

Antonio looked pleased and brushed fingers briefly to her chin, "You deserve much more than that though."

That made Nattie feel warm in the pit of her stomach. She leaned against Antonio when he walked her back to the house where Tyson waited for them, his expression lined with concern and something that could have been jealousy. Nattie raised her eyebrows because really? Antonio laughed, clearly seeing what she did before he kissed her on both cheeks, a heartfelt European farewell.

"Thank you for the lovely evening, Natalya. We will do it again soon."

"Absolutely."

Antonio kissed Tyson emphatically before leaving, whistling jauntily. Nattie smiled, watching him leave before heading into the kitchen for a coffee. Her heart felt a little lighter and she found herself humming the same tune that Antonio had been whistling only moments before.

"So what did you guys do?"

Nattie smiled at Tyson's tone. "We had a drink and we talked about you."

Tyson clearly didn't know what to say to that. Nattie took pity on him and wrapped her arms around him. It was nice to know that she wasn't the only one sometimes put off-kilter by their relationship.

* * *

Of course she and Tyson still argued, sometimes she cried and he acted like he couldn't understand why she was upset. Antonio and Tyson argued too and sometimes the three of them needed space from each other. That was good, healthy probably, even though it hurt. The pain meant something though. Nattie reminded herself of that every time she felt a twinge because it was always accompanied by a desire to overcome or get past the pain, she felt no urge to run away or give up. That meant a lot.

* * *

Nattie checked her reflection – she definitely looked good. Her new underwear was doing really great things to her figure under the form-fitting black dress. She was going to look excellent accompanying Tyson and Antonio to the ring for their match. They were achieving real success as a tag team, thanks to their chemistry and complimentary physical styles. Nattie was so proud of them.

Antonio was waiting near the curtain, checking something on his phone. A slow smile spread across his face when he caught sight of Nattie and he tucked his phone away in order to give her his full attention. He kissed her hand which made Nattie smile. Antonio always made her feel pretty; she liked that a lot.

"He forgot his jacket," Antonio explained.

Nattie shook her head and stepped closer, turning so that her back pressed against Antonio's chest and his arms began to wrap around her shoulders. It was a good solid feeling. Antonio pressed a kiss to her cheek, close to her mouth, just as Summer Rae sashayed past. She smirked with delight at what she'd witnessed, like she'd found some really good gossip or blackmail material. Nattie arched her eyebrows back, bristling all over, and felt Antonio squeeze her shoulders as Summer quickly walked off, right towards a door that was starting to open, revealing Tyson, now wearing his jacket.

Sure enough, Summer started talking to him, her hip cocked out one way, her smile wide and pretty. She was flirting, of course she was. Summer loved to upset Nattie. Nattie gritted her teeth and tried not to glare too much, she didn't want Summer to know that she'd gotten to her. Summer loved it when people reacted to her antics.

Tyson, of course, wasn't pushing her away. Antonio chuckled in Nattie's ear.

"He likes to be flirted with."

"Especially when it's Summer."

Tyson was laughing and Nattie really wished that she had a match with Summer to look forward to. Antonio kept hold of her though, his strong fingers kneading her tense muscles. Nattie tried to relax into his touch. Antonio was here and Tyson wasn't actually interested in Summer, he'd only ever been interested in Nattie and Antonio. It was the most comforting thought Nattie had had for a while.

Summer was touching Tyson's arm now and leaning close like she was confiding something. Tyson shook his head with an amused and confused expression, brushing aside her touch as he set off down the hallway towards Nattie and Antonio. It was Nattie's turn to smirk at a frustrated Summer Rae as Tyson kissed his wife and bumped fists with Antonio who then pressed a hand to the nape of Tyson's neck, bringing him close so that their foreheads briefly but firmly touched. Nattie tossed her head, taking Tyson's hand. Later, all three of them would probably get drinks together; they might end up falling asleep in the same bed. It happened sometimes.

There was no one else that she'd rather be standing there with, no one else that she'd rather be walking to the ring.

That meant something too.

_-the end_


End file.
